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Ultraviolet Sound

Testosterone-oozing electro

By Simon McCormack

Give us a kiss

Talking the talk is always easier than walking the walk, but when the former is done by the members of Ultraviolet Sound, it's still worth listening to.

The Los Angeles-based electro trio doesn't just exude confidence with its grandiose claims of world domination: Every saucy guitar lick and ballsy keyboard reverberation is sopping wet with confidence. Toss in the hyper-masculine lyrics and hot-to-trot attitude of lead singer Sarah Hudson and you've got unfiltered electro-cockiness personified.

Ultraviolet Sound has embraced a breed of L.A. club scene smugness that is at least partially tongue-in-cheek. Its members' love of electronic tunes is real, but their decadent, fashion-forward personae can seem almost like a mockery of themselves, especially in light of Hudson's clearly over-the-top lyrics. "We aren't afraid of sarcasm and we always use it to hopefully affect people on a deeper level," Hudson says. "We want to try to make people think a little bit."

After meeting fellow electro-junkie Sami the Ruffkut in New York City in 2005, the two moved to L.A. in search of a music scene better suited to their obsession. The duo stumbled upon Brad Ackley playing guitar on the street, brought him into the studio and quickly made him the third leg of the tripod.

Armed with loudmouth vocals, synths, guitar and a talk box for good measure, Ultraviolet Sound began cultivating its vision of a slightly dystopic, synthetic anarchy that, at its most ravenous, borders on pure industrial mayhem. "We don't really decide what to write, we just do what we feel," Hudson explains. "We are influenced by so many different artists in a bunch of different genres, and we aren't afraid to bring all those influences into our music."

Hudson's celebrity obsessions inspire a great many of her lyrical themes, which make for a sprinkling of amusing anecdotes mixed in with the chaos. "Usually I'll have a concept or a title in mind when I write," Hudson says. "I read a lot and pop culture is a constant influence as well."

Ultraviolet Sound wants its music to reach the masses and it doesn't care how it gets to them. If you log on to the band's MySpace page (myspace.com/ultravioletsound) and send them a message with your e-mail address, they'll send you MP3s of their brand-new full-length LP, O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Dancing). "We are so pumped to get this record out," Hudson says. "We're very proud of it and hope it accomplishes our goal, which is to make you never stop dancing."

After you take the band's tracks for a free test drive, see them in the flesh at Atomic Cantina along with The Jungle on Sunday, March 23. It's free, but you've got to be 21 to get in.